Paul Edward PleshaPleshaPaul EdwardCAWorld War, 1939-1945Army184th Infantry, 37th Infantry, 148th InfantryFirst SergeantCamp San Luis Obispo, California; San Diego, California; Aleutian Islands; Dutch Harbor (Alaska); Camp Hood, TexasNoVeteran"The biggest enemy was frostbite." (Video interview, 15:25)Arriving at Dutch Harbor at midnight in June, 1942, First Sergeant Paul Plesha barely had time to sleep before he woke to the sound of a ship firing--and the start of combat with the Japanese. In recounting the battle, he recalls instances of losing men under his command, friendly fire, and enemy planes flying so close to the ground that he could see the pilot’s face. He spent the next 20 months in the Aleutians, coping with frigid conditions and lack of infrastructure, before returning to the States.Paul Plesha at time of interviewAleutian Islands: WWII’s Unknown CampaignArriving at Dutch Harbor at midnight the night before the attack; waking to gunfire.Formulating a battle plan; staying close to the ground; losing one man; watching a Japanese Zero plan fly overhead and seeing the pilot’s face.Background on invasion of Attu.Sent back to Attu; landing unopposed; high rate of friendly fire because his troops weren’t expected; losing two men.Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congresshttp://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.12705/DLC-AFC2018-08-10loc.natlib.afc2001001.12705